Right guys

So we got the bus to Kuala Lumpur, where on arrival we were dropped off in the middle of a smoggy dual carriageway in rush hour. Immediately a friendly enough taxi driver offers to take us to our hotel in Chinatown for a princely sum of 30 ringgits (or 6 quid). Sounds good but we later found that he had overcharged us about 8 times, and taken us on a rather elaborate detour. Not only this but he didn't even drop us outside our place, instead choosing Kiddie Love Enterprises! There is photo evidence.

The Matahari lodge - once we found it - was as good as any hotel and only a fiver a night! The guys running it were a good laugh and recommended Chinatown as the place to be, so there we headed. The atmosphere there was so amazing that we ended up eating and boozing there every night. Compared to Singapore it is absolute carnage. There is no concept of pedestrian crossings in Malaysia, you just have to start walking and hope for the best! There are crazy Chinese people selling ridiculous novelty items everywhere and it is much dirtier and more haphazard - in a good way. We also had the pleasure of spotting our first ladyboy ahead of schedule, she/he/it was offering happy massages outside a shop playing just the worst soppy Chinese pop! And she/he/it was a poor ladyboy at that.

We spent a debauched kareoke night with a nice Belgian couple in a Sheesha bar, and unfortunately sealed our fate for the next day. Being on a bus with Durian fruits all around you with a hangover is not fun. It literally smells like rotting vegetable matter wrapped in a stained nappy! However once at the Batu Caves and after a 50p curry we were good to go, and lost for words in this majestic and highly spiritual place. The 40 metre Buddha and 269 steps leading to the temples looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. The added bonus comes from very cheeky and intelligent monkeys scaling the steps on the lookout for unwitting tourists and their ice creams, including us! People were worshipping while we were there which added to the experience.

Back in the city we spent time in the Petronas Towers and its enormous shopping complex (these Asians really know how to build their shopping malls!) and went up the KL Tower at nightfall. Unfortunately it was a bit of an anticlimax after the Rockefeller in NY, and devastingly Robbo was denied the oppurtunity to ride in a makeshift F1 simulator as he was too tall! Just not designed for this place. We would like to add that we've successfully blocked and left a present in two out four guesthouse toilets so far, so lets hope our good work continues!